guoshuo
Established
I'm going to Baltimore this weekend and I have 4 days free in Baltimore and DC. I'm considering either to bring my sony nex3 with the 16mm lens or m2+canon 501.4 or 35 summicron with rolls of RDP and trix. One camera and one lens only. Appreciate your input here. btw I don't have any plans, maybe just walk around...
frank-grumman
Well-known
Shuo,
I would plan carefully where I walk around both in Baltimore and DC, some neighborhoods of which could well present security issues for you. Some neighborhoods in Baltimore are just seriously dangerous; same with DC
Baltimore: http://news.travel.aol.com/2010/08/31/safe-and-dangerous-places-in-baltimore/
DC: http://soyourenewtodc.wordpress.com/2011/02/16/the-four-quadrants-of-dc/
Whatever you do, just don't walk around without a plan about where you going and what you are likely to encounter there.
I'm sure folks here who live in those cities can/will comment with more contemporaneous information that those two links I sent you.
I would plan carefully where I walk around both in Baltimore and DC, some neighborhoods of which could well present security issues for you. Some neighborhoods in Baltimore are just seriously dangerous; same with DC
Baltimore: http://news.travel.aol.com/2010/08/31/safe-and-dangerous-places-in-baltimore/
DC: http://soyourenewtodc.wordpress.com/2011/02/16/the-four-quadrants-of-dc/
Whatever you do, just don't walk around without a plan about where you going and what you are likely to encounter there.
I'm sure folks here who live in those cities can/will comment with more contemporaneous information that those two links I sent you.
unixrevolution
Well-known
I live in the DC area, and if you are going to the national mall/smithsonian museums/georgetown/northwest you are probably OK. If you venture into southeast/Anacostia you will be much less OK. Stick to the major touristy places and you should be alright.
As far as shooting, I would say either the C3 and 16 or the M2/35 Cron is the camera of choice. While I think the 35/M2 will give you the better image quality, the C3's Autofocus and low light may come in handy, and the wider FOV of the 16mm will be useful in DC. If you want architecture shots, the wider lens will help.
Honestly, if it were me i'd take it all because I'm a maniac...but one camera one lens? I'd give the nod to the Sony. The M2 is fabulous but its FOV isn't going to be quite wide enough with a 35, and it's not going to be as convenient.
I've shot in DC on numerous occasions, and I tend to shoot the widest lens I have with me. On DC streets a 35mm is a standard. Then again, the 16mm may be too wide for some situations with its 24mm FOV, and the 35 would be more appropriate.
What I guess I'm really saying is "not the 50."
While in DC, do be sure to check out the Smithsonian museums, particularly Air and Space if you like airplanes, American History if you like,...uh...history, and Natural History if you like dinosaurs and animals.
As for Baltimore, the inner harbor is pretty much all I'm familiar with. The USS Constellation is a must see, as is the National Aquarium. Here, a 35 would probably be sufficiently wide, as there's space to get away from objects before photographing.
Overalll I'd personally lean towards the 35 Cron and M2, though the 16mm and Sony combo would give you wider vistas for DC's tight streets, and be more convenient with its digitalness.
As far as shooting, I would say either the C3 and 16 or the M2/35 Cron is the camera of choice. While I think the 35/M2 will give you the better image quality, the C3's Autofocus and low light may come in handy, and the wider FOV of the 16mm will be useful in DC. If you want architecture shots, the wider lens will help.
Honestly, if it were me i'd take it all because I'm a maniac...but one camera one lens? I'd give the nod to the Sony. The M2 is fabulous but its FOV isn't going to be quite wide enough with a 35, and it's not going to be as convenient.
I've shot in DC on numerous occasions, and I tend to shoot the widest lens I have with me. On DC streets a 35mm is a standard. Then again, the 16mm may be too wide for some situations with its 24mm FOV, and the 35 would be more appropriate.
What I guess I'm really saying is "not the 50."
While in DC, do be sure to check out the Smithsonian museums, particularly Air and Space if you like airplanes, American History if you like,...uh...history, and Natural History if you like dinosaurs and animals.
As for Baltimore, the inner harbor is pretty much all I'm familiar with. The USS Constellation is a must see, as is the National Aquarium. Here, a 35 would probably be sufficiently wide, as there's space to get away from objects before photographing.
Overalll I'd personally lean towards the 35 Cron and M2, though the 16mm and Sony combo would give you wider vistas for DC's tight streets, and be more convenient with its digitalness.
oftheherd
Veteran
Baltimore and DC are big cities. Like any big city, they have good places and bad places. Baltimore and DC have very bad places. I don't know about Baltimore, but in DC, you can walk a block or less, and go from an afluent area, to a project area. Very strange. Even so, my experience in DC has been that if you go looking for touble, you will no doubt find it. If you don't of looking for trouble, you probably won't find it. But as you would anywhere, keep you situational awareness up and running.
I agree that a wide angle lens would no doubt get use from me. But I don't know your shooting preferences. I sure wouldn't take anything longer than a 35mm, but that's me. I would want at least a 28mm, and perhaps a 24mm. But again, that is me.
I am rather unfamiliar with the Baltimore area. I think they usually have at least one tall ship there (1800s sailing ships) but I might be wrong.
DC of course has a lot of monuments, the Mall, old buildings, free and pay museums, statues, you name it. Most are in pretty safe areas. I don't know if there are cherry blossoms coming out on the lower mall or not, or if so, if they are at a state worth of photos. The subway system in DC is always worth using. It is clean and fairly well policed, but that doesn't mean there aren't crooks willing try and steal anything they think might be of value. Especially be aware during stops, and more so just before the doors are to close.
So again, mainly what you would expect from any large city. I would love to meet with you while you are here, but I already have several commitments this weekend, and I work during the week. But stay safe and enjoy.
I agree that a wide angle lens would no doubt get use from me. But I don't know your shooting preferences. I sure wouldn't take anything longer than a 35mm, but that's me. I would want at least a 28mm, and perhaps a 24mm. But again, that is me.
I am rather unfamiliar with the Baltimore area. I think they usually have at least one tall ship there (1800s sailing ships) but I might be wrong.
DC of course has a lot of monuments, the Mall, old buildings, free and pay museums, statues, you name it. Most are in pretty safe areas. I don't know if there are cherry blossoms coming out on the lower mall or not, or if so, if they are at a state worth of photos. The subway system in DC is always worth using. It is clean and fairly well policed, but that doesn't mean there aren't crooks willing try and steal anything they think might be of value. Especially be aware during stops, and more so just before the doors are to close.
So again, mainly what you would expect from any large city. I would love to meet with you while you are here, but I already have several commitments this weekend, and I work during the week. But stay safe and enjoy.
guoshuo
Established
Thank you Frank, Eric and oftherherd. I will take your advices and take the nex 3 with 16mm for the simplicity. Also thanks for the recommended places to visit. I will make a plan~
bigeye
Well-known
Shuo: DC will have some longer shots that most cities - monuments/landscapes down on the Mall. It's quite open. Baltimore is regular "city distances".
I lived in DC for 18 years and are only a few places that anyone would have trouble. I work in Baltimore a lot now and it can be a little rough at night downtown on the edge of the tourist areas, but no real worries.
Like any city, it's how you handle yourself.
.
I lived in DC for 18 years and are only a few places that anyone would have trouble. I work in Baltimore a lot now and it can be a little rough at night downtown on the edge of the tourist areas, but no real worries.
Like any city, it's how you handle yourself.
.
furcafe
Veteran
Basic agreement here. I've spent the bulk of my life in the DC area. I grew up in the Maryland suburbs & have lived in the city proper since 1991. To put things in perspective, while crime in DC hasn't dropped as precipitously & quickly as it has in NYC, which is now 1 of the safest cities in the world, the city has steadily & noticeably improved in the years I've lived here. DC is probably the safest it's been since the early 1960s. For the most part, just as w/almost every large city in the world (particularly true of capitals) any neighborhood that interests or attracts tourists & business visitors will be very safe. Mostly for economic reasons, Baltimore's crime rate remains significantly higher than DC, but the same basic rules apply. Even during the worse days of the 1970s-80s, law-abiding commuters & residents ran a higher risk of being seriously injured in a traffic accident in the suburbs than being a victim of violent crime in the city. The bottom line is that safety/crime concerns for visitors to urban America are often greatly exaggerated by many Americans (who mostly live in suburban & rural areas).
As far as recommendations on equipment for the OP, much obviously depends on the type of photography that interests you, e.g., the requirements for street shooting being very different from landscape, sports/wildlife (zoo), or close-ups of flowers (FYI, the cherry blossoms won't be peaking for at least a week or 2: http://www.nationalcherryblossomfestival.org/about/bloom-watch/). Any of the equipment combos you've listed can work well for general tourist snaps of monuments, people, etc., but I would guess that the Nex3 has better close-focusing abilities if you're planning on doing any significant amount of macro.
To echo bigeye's first point, to the extent that your choice of focal length/field of view is heavily influenced by physical distances, then you should know that most cities in North America, even much of relatively dense places like NYC & Chicago, are much more spread out & less dense than HK, Shanghai, etc. Because of height limitations & planning, DC is much less dense than other pre-automobile era cities of similar size, like Baltimore. Outside the monumental core, even the most dense residential neighborhoods are typically made up of 19th century row houses (more like much of Boston and Philadelphia) than apartment blocks in Manhattan & many residential areas relatively close to the city center would be considered positively suburban in other parts of the world (houses w/yards & driveways, etc.).
Have a great trip (I might even inadvertently run into you here in DC while I'm out shooting)!
As far as recommendations on equipment for the OP, much obviously depends on the type of photography that interests you, e.g., the requirements for street shooting being very different from landscape, sports/wildlife (zoo), or close-ups of flowers (FYI, the cherry blossoms won't be peaking for at least a week or 2: http://www.nationalcherryblossomfestival.org/about/bloom-watch/). Any of the equipment combos you've listed can work well for general tourist snaps of monuments, people, etc., but I would guess that the Nex3 has better close-focusing abilities if you're planning on doing any significant amount of macro.
To echo bigeye's first point, to the extent that your choice of focal length/field of view is heavily influenced by physical distances, then you should know that most cities in North America, even much of relatively dense places like NYC & Chicago, are much more spread out & less dense than HK, Shanghai, etc. Because of height limitations & planning, DC is much less dense than other pre-automobile era cities of similar size, like Baltimore. Outside the monumental core, even the most dense residential neighborhoods are typically made up of 19th century row houses (more like much of Boston and Philadelphia) than apartment blocks in Manhattan & many residential areas relatively close to the city center would be considered positively suburban in other parts of the world (houses w/yards & driveways, etc.).
Have a great trip (I might even inadvertently run into you here in DC while I'm out shooting)!
ayazdani
Member
Don't forget to visit the Leica Store while in DC 